celtic_chief I cannot understand how so many people have just given this classic play by the great Brian Friel just an average score. I take it they are incapable of understanding the deeper meaning to great European films like this. I guess if it doesn't include expensive props, they are incapable of reading under the surface. I had read this play many years ago, and loved it, and I had put off watching the film until recently. This has to be one of the greatest films that I have ever seen and one that is full worthy of a 10/10. Excellent performances by all, a powerful script, great directing. This is a must for everyone who wants more than fast cars and expensive props.

SimonJack Others have given details of the play on which this film, 'Dancing at Lughnasa," is based. I too think that the movie has a stagy feel to it. That doesn't take away from the story – what there is of it; but it does speak to the lower technical quality of the film. The country shots do seem patched to the set scenes. I would like to have seen the stage play.The acting is quite good all around. No role was exceptional, but all were very good. I've enjoyed reading the different comments of reviewers, especially where some see the family as ordinary while others see it as exceptional. My take is that this is an ordinary family in the sense of relationships, but a somewhat eccentric family in their circumstances. For instance, all of the girls are unmarried and living together. And, a much older brother priest returns from the missions to retire at home, but with dementia setting in and some sort of mixed bag of spirituality that we can't quite grasp or figure out. Did he have a reverse conversion? Did he become pagan instead of converting Africans to Christianity? Whether in the movie, in the original play or in both, this point weakens the story. Unanswered questions like this distract the viewer. So, we miss the flow of the movie which centers around the five sisters. Another nagging distraction is a question of the parents. What happened to them? How long have then been dead? What about them – they are never mentioned that I can recall. Kate (Meryl Streep) seems to be no older than 40, with the youngest girl, Rose, mot much older than 20. But Father Jack is clearly well over 60. If they all had the same parents, their mother would have borne children for 40 years. Not impossible, but certainly exceptional. At one point, the narrator (Michael Mundy grown) makes a comment about this, but it's another piece that leaves viewers with a question – and another distraction.Finally, this is a family of girls who are very close-knit. They are different individuals, and they have quarrels and disagreements. But we see nothing so deep that it would rend this family apart. They care deeply for one another. When they dance together spontaneously, they share a common moment of joy and fun. The story ends on a sad note, which is OK for a good movie or story. But, in this case, we don't know why Agnes and Rose just sneaked off together one night, never more to be seen or heard from. There was no apparent rift or irreparable rending of the family. The grown Michael expresses the surprise of all the rest of them. Two sisters just flee a family circle of siblings they have been so close with all their lives? It's another question that leaves the film wanting.

gradyharp Given the luxury of owning films via DVD collections offers the opportunity to revisit at will the works the viewer found worthy of purchase. Such is the case with the luminous 'Dancing at Lughnasa', a 1998 release by director Pat O'Connor to the tunes of a lilting screenplay by Frank McGuinness based on Brian Friel's 1990 play of the same name. Though low key and not a popular hit at the box office, this is one of those rare films that combines a very simple tale about common folks brought to life by a cast of extraordinary actors.The story is set in Donnegal, Ireland in 1936 (just before WW II)choked the world) and simply relates the life of a family of five single sisters and the love child of one of them. The action is spare, centering on the visit of their brother home from the missionary work in Uganda inalterably changed from the experience, on the loss of job of the supporting eldest sister, and the return of the errant father of the love child for the summer, and other daily challenges. The stresses and strains these small events play on the sisters is eventually climaxed in the dancing festival that marks the Feast of Lughnasa (a persistent pagan celebration that challenges the very Catholic foundation of the Irish community), a compelling event that parallels the returned priest brother from the mission fields where he has gained insight into the desperate need for community, happiness, dancing and celebration as the essential needs of humankind.The cast is flawless: Meryl Streep is superb as the elder sister bitterly bound to holding the family together at all costs, Catherine McCormack as the mother of the lovechild, Kathy Burke, Sophie Thompson and Brid Brennan; Michael Gambon as the deranged returned brother; and Rhys Ifans as the errant father of the child. They interact and play like fine chamber music. The brilliantly green and gorgeous countryside is captured eloquently by Kenneth MacMillan. In every aspect of production the film fits like a tightly intertwined puzzle. It simply glows. Revisiting 'Dancing at Lughnasa' is an even finer trip than the first exposure. Highly Recommended.

marponder I just saw this movie on cable, and not having seen the play, was able to truly enjoy and relate to the people and situations portrayed in it. I can imagine that the play was deeper, etc. The same thing happens in adaptations of books into movies. But as someone who knew nothing at all about this movie, I was transfixed for the whole time I watched it and sad at the end. I recommend it highly, especially for lovers of Ireland, Irish drama, Meryl Streep, and the 30's. You won't be wasting your time!!***P.S. Is it considered a spoiler if you state that a film seemed sad to you? That is the only reason I added the spoiler notation. Or do you have to actually spell out what happened? Thanks.